Hi Fleurzty,
I miss your daily blog updates. Anyway I have a henna question for you since I’m so confused about it. I read so many threads and I have information overload that I can’t process. I have blond highlights in my hair and I want to Henna for the conditioning benefits, how will it affect my highlights? Which one should I order? PLEASE HELP
Hi Natasha, thank you for writing in. I missed blogging as well. I am making an effort to return to a consistent pace 
Now to your question! There is a lot of information out there on the use of henna, so it can be difficult to decipher through it all. I am afraid to tell you this, but the henna will affect your blond highlights. Henna leaves a reddish color in the hair. While it won’t lighten dark hair, but rather coats it with a reddish hue visible under certain lights, it WILL change the color of hair that is lighter, partially why it is advertised as a natural alternative to using commercial dyes on gray hair. I speak of this with such certainty because before I ever used henna my hair was blond. I was not sure just how much the color would be affected by the henna. Well, you be the judge.
The blond hair pictures here were taken no more than a few days before my first henna treatment.
Henna is moisturizing and has been used for conditioning my many. However, if you are not willing to let go of your highlights, I strongly suggest looking into other conditioners, such as teas (hibiscus, chamomile, fenugreek, nettles are great examples), Maka or Zizyphus Spina Christi, an ayurvedic powder recommended for conditioning, offering sheen and thickening hair without lightening or darkening the hair in any way. KCurly of Newly Natural did a review on this powder a while back, and according to her post, she noticed more sheen and bounce on the section of hair to which she applied the mix.
I hope this helped! Let us know how it goes!
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What you want is Cassia. It is another herbal conditioner/colorant but it only imparts a very subtle gold tone, barely noticeable on any but the palest hair.
It has conditioning properties very much like Henna but without the tint.
I am a henna user – because I LOVE the red/auburn shade I get from it (light-medium brown base color) and love the conditioning and glossy sheen. I have tried doing a Cassia-Henna mix too for a lighter red and it worked great.
I have scattered greys and a patch in front so those are a BRIGHT auburn but I like the contrast and the scattered greys show up as sparkling highlights in the auburn.
Henna is VERY permanent too. You can’t remove it, it has to grow out.
So – try Cassia. Same benefits, very little if any color change.
Hope that helps.
Angela, thank you for adding Cassia to the list. I have tried Cassia once, but completely forgot about it while responding to this post.
Thanks ladies for the advice. I actually ordered Cassia but I haven’t received it yet. I don’t mind the color change at all but I was curious as to how red my high lights would be. LOL, I don’t want to scare myself. Again thank you and I will be sure to keep you all posted.
Fleurzty, did you eventually dye your hair black or did the frequent Henna use do that for you? Also do you still use Henna?
I ended up dyeing my hair black after I had my son. I had enough of the two-tone color. The henna never darkened my hair enough for it to blend in with my roots. With every use, it became a more intense red though. To sustain that color, I would have had to color the roots, and henna over it every few months. I decided against doing that. Had I known about indigo at the time or other alternatives to chemical dyes, I would have probably gone that route.
I don’t henna much, never did though. I’ve probably done no more than 10 henna treatments overall. The change in texture is always very noticeable after I henna, so I stay away from it. The last time I used henna, I mixed it with Amla, and that helped a lot with the loosening effect. I used 2 parts Amla and 1 part henna. If I recall correctly I also added maybe 1 oz of oil to the mix. Adding oil to my mix always makes it come out smoother and much, much easier to apply. The mixture also dries softer in my hair when there is oil added.
Fleurzty.
Hello,
I am both new to your blog and to henna and I’m very happy I found your blog. I’m wanted to know how soon can I use henna on my hair after I texrelaxed it? My hair color is currently dark but I want it to be darker (jet black) and shiner and I was told that henna would be best… Can you give me any advice as to how to use it? Should I add jojoba oil or olive oil to it?
Hi!!!
Wow youre hair really lightened,
I have very brown to black hair and I tried normal henna, brown henna and
blonde henna but my hair is still black!!
How did you get it so ligth
Thanks!
Hello fleurzty,
I Love your website,very informative. I was looking at your answers to peoples comments dated Nov 24,2009. I need to know how did you achieve the brown/blond hair in the top picture which is under:Henna and Lighter Hair topic. It is beautiful!
Thanks,
Michelle
I made an error in my e-mail address when I left my comment. this is the correct address.
Hello,
I hope all is well.
I love your website, very informative. I am writing in regards to your answers under the topic : Henna and Lighter Hair dated Nov 24,2009 , how did you achieve the brown/blonde color in the top picture , it is beaut iful?